Hey dudes. I'm gonna make this brief and let you know that I am going through a complete lack-of-motivation writer's block. Literally, my novel is going slower than a herd of turtles stampeding through peanut butter, and all I want to do is write a different story but I CAN'T because I haven't finished THAT ONE yet.
Oh. And I'm leaving for college on Friday. So excited! My roommates seem like really nice people too, which makes it that much better.
All in all, I'm incredibly busy and don't have very much time for just about anything. You can kiss daily updates goodbye. The story has also been officially updated as an M rated story, so please keep that in mind as you continue reading this story.
I will also be incorporating Greek mythology a little bit, but mostly for character and location references. The rest will be filled with my imagination. If you have a problem with that, well . . . to put it simply, I don't care. But I still love you 3
(and by the way? WE JUST PASSED 100 REVIEWS. and every single one of them is a positive review, except for the couple about me calling Rin Zane by accident. Seriously, where are you seeing this? I just checked the chapters to correct them and they are MIA. Someone PM me the locations or something.)
This chapter will mostly delve into what the characters are thinking at this point. I want it to be as realistic as possible; that means that yes, people's mentalities are being screwed up and so on and so forth. It will also help you understand what the characters are going through a little bit better :) Sorry for my writer's-block writing by the way. I'll apologize in advance.
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Raziele's POV
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Raziele hated.
The chains slipped off of his wrists and fell heavily to the cell floor. Blood had splattered on the cold stone and dried, creating a darker montage against the hard rock. He rubbed his wrists, getting the blood flowing again even as scarlet seeped from the many puncture wounds.
The layer of needles lining the inside of the manacles had not been kind to his skin.
The metal collar had been next. It unlocked, and without a sound even as the thin needles jerked out of his throat, the hinges finally snapped and it fell to the floor. Raziele knew better than to take a deep breath; he had been here more times than he cared to admit, and he learned all of the subtle tricks of the dangerous trade.
Don't breathe deeply if you don't want to choke on blood.
Don't stand to quickly or the sudden change in blood pressure would make you faint.
Don't make any sudden movements or the fragile newly-healed bones will break.
And, the most important - do not look at the jail warren in the eye if you prefer to keep your limbs still attached.
Hades twirled the iron key ring in his finger. His skin was coal-black, his eyes redder than raw rubies. A smirk twisted his face; his teeth were black, jagged and rough, and continuously cut through his bottom lip to create beads of red that trickled down his chin. Raziele hated; hated this man, hated everything he stood for.
There had been a rumor in Gehenna that, after Hades had been banished from Assaih, he and Satan had competed for the entire underworld. However, Satan won and as punishment, made the lesser god serve him in the prisons; the prisons were also where, ironically, Satan had cursed Hades to stay for the rest of eternity. But it was no curse; Hades enjoyed the suffering, enjoyed beating the captives here half out of their minds. He treated his slaves no better, and they in turn took their pent-up frustration and anger out of the poor souls trapped here for eternity.
Hades stood for hopelessness. Raziele had read about the thing called 'hope' in a book once, and also about this vague term called 'belief'. As a half-human, Raziele understood those two words in their entirety, and had taken up on the habit of believing.
For example, he believed that humans were stupid. He believed that Agni was nice. He believed that hope was real and that snow was white, that apples were the best snack in the entire world and he believed that, one day, he would breathe the fresh air of Assaih.
He hoped that his mother would be proud of him now, he believed that he was trying the best he could to make her that way. He believed that the hierarchy of Gehenna was absolute. He believed that Rin was clueless and naive, but an honest guy that would never stab him in the back.
Raziele also believed that he hated Hades, hated the god - demon with everything he had.
He hated.
Hades said not a word as he roughly pushed Raziele out of the cell. His bare feet, the healing bruises still tender, worsened when he walked upon the rough stone floor. They cut and bled, leaving red footprints where he walked but they were hardly visible above the layer of scarlet.
This was a well-used path.
A sudden torch flared to life. Raziele winced at the sudden brightness, and though his rosy eyes adjusted mere moments later, they still smarted. How long had he been inside of that cell? Hours? Days?
He had no way of knowing.
"So I heard you took the beating for someone else."
Hades' low, seductive tone chilled Raziele like the cold never could. "What's it to you?" he sneered. A hand went out; Raziele, in his weakened state, didn't have time to dodge before a fist connected with the side of his head. He fell heavily to his hands and knees; there was a faint snap as the fragile bones in his wrist broke, but he refused to make a sound.
He deserved that one. It was his fourth rule of his to-do list in Gehenna's prison; or, in this case, what not to do.
"Listen hard, hybrid." A strong hand pulled him up by his hair. "Satan may rule of there, but in this place, he has no power. I am the king," Hades hissed, then jerked Raziele's head so that he could read a plaque above the arched stone door.
Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate
Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.
"Do you see that, Raziele Agape?" Hades demanded, his voice low. Raziele could feel his moist breath against his ear. "It means that there is nothing left to live for. No one to die for. Remember that the next time you decide to sacrifice yourself for someone else. Remember that." His voice was low, low enough that Raziele could hardly hear, and then Hades roughly threw him on the floor.
Raziele used the wall to help him get back to his feet, his eyes carefully lowered to the ground. "I remember."
But that was a lie.
He still hoped.
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Rin POV
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Rin lay on his back on top of the bed, his gaze staring at the ceiling. He was bored, incredibly bored, and Raziele hadn't visited him even though an entire day went by. Or at least, Rin thought it had been a day. He didn't know for sure; there was no clock in his room and no windows either.
It was times like these that Rin started to think, to remember the days back in Assaih. Sometimes when he dozed, he had a flashback; Shuro, pushing him and Yukio on the swings. Snow was falling, making his nose red and fingers cold, but all he could do was laugh and laugh and laugh, shouting higher, higher, higher . . . !
Or his first day at the Academy, or the moment when he learned that Yukio was actually an exorcist and, above all, his new teacher. Rin smiled at the memory; he had been so shocked and, still numb from the death of his father, didn't think and started shouting at Yukio in the middle of one of his classes.
Rin moved his arms above his head.
He hadn't meant to yell; it just happened. So much had changed. The night before he had discovered that his entire life had been a lie; then, the next morning, he had learned that his belief of Yukio's had been a lie as well. It shook him, shook him down to his very core, and he couldn't help but wonder what else of his life was a lie? Was he really who he thought he was? Who he thought that he could be?
But instead of dealing with his pent-up emotions, Rin had just began to yell. He smiled to himself; he had created a mess after that as well. Yukio pointed a gun at him too, but that didn't even seem like a big deal at the time.
And now here he was, in Gehenna. Mephisto must have been lying to him his entire stay at the Academy as well. Now that he thought about it, the headmaster must have been lying to Shuro as well when he promised to take care of Rin and Yukio if something were to ever happen to the Paladin.
Rin slowly sat up, groaning when his sore muscles protested. All of the lies and everything that had happened was beginning to catch up with him. Raziele had always made him feel better about the world, however. His care-free attitude and smile were contagious.
Rin swung his legs of the side of the bed and stood, then made his way to the door. He remembered Raziele telling him that it wasn't safe to walk outside alone, but he didn't care. All of his thoughts were getting to him, wearing him down, and he just wanted to stop thinking. To make it all go away, to do something other than stare at the ceiling and wonder about a future that you may or may not have tomorrow and a past that had been false from the moment he had been born.
He just wanted to walk.
And so he did. Rin opened the door and, being careful to shut it gently behind him, began to walk down the winding halls. Every sense was on full alert, every nerve ending standing on edge.
He had always joked to Yukio that he wouldn't miss him. But in truth, Rin missed his brother more than he knew. He missed his cynicism, his attitude, even the way he constantly nagged him when Rin didn't finish his homework. He missed Shiemi and her constant smile and motherly attitude, Shima's paranoia of bugs, Bon's arrogance and constant wanting to help, Konekomaru's easy and helpful attitude, and even Eyebrow's glare even though she was the most loyal of the group.
It was strange how much he missed them. He hadn't even known them that long. But maybe it was because, for the first time, someone his age actually knew who he was and didn't hate him for it. Sure, it had been rough at first, but they remained with him with the end. Rin never had friends before but, now that he did, he couldn't imagine how he lived before without them.
If it wasn't for Yukio, maybe he would have become just what Satan would have wanted.
A weapon.
Suddenly something caught his eye; a change in the light perhaps, a sudden brightening of the walls. When Rin turned he realized that he had found a window. A window that revealed Gehenna in its entirety. He ran towards it and pressed his palms on the cold glass, imagining what it would be like to breath the fresh air.
But not fresh, huh? After all, this was Gehenna. Everything was different here.
There weren't even stars.
Tada! The end! Time for comments!
Miss Light Bright: Ah. Well, I supposed I changed the rules of my updates so the rant doesn't count anymore. But seriously. I'm gonna update so don't worry about asking me for some. But besides that, thank you! :)
LostStrandofThought: IKR?! :D That's how it's like in my head too - like the anime - and I just write it down. You have no idea how happy it makes me that you see it too!
greatgirl22303: you like 'just about' everything? Woooow. -_- Nah, I'm not a turd like that I'm only teasing you! :D Thank you and I'm glad you like it so far! By the way - KH for the win.
Clarity in Scarlet: Shiemi is awesome!
Dowgma: Hahahah I worry for you man. Let the carnage commence! :D
...the heck? It's already midnight? Geezums! Good night everyone, sweet dreams, and watch out for the bed bugs because they're freakin' huge! xD